Ron Ulicny's "Skates No. 2 (Well Aren't You a Big Girl Now)" is on display at the Spoke Art Kiosk at ArtMRKT San Francisco on May 17, 2012.

Ron Ulicny's "Skates No. 2 (Well Aren't You a Big Girl Now)" is on display at the Spoke Art Kiosk at ArtMRKT San Francisco on May 17, 2012.

Photo: Matt Petty, San Francisco Chronicle

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For ArtPadSF the rooms of the Phoenix Hotel were converted into gallery spaces.

For ArtPadSF the rooms of the Phoenix Hotel were converted into gallery spaces.

Photo: Matt Petty, San Francisco Chronicle

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HOT SPOT Art Fair Weekend

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Putting on a weekend art fair isn't easy. Most people who visited one of the three events going on last weekend in San Francisco had no idea what goes into it. "People think we've been there weeks setting it up, but really the installation all happens in around 48 hours," said Max Fishko, managing partner of the artMRKT San Francisco. "It's a really tight deadline. ... When the curtain goes up, everything better be in place." ArtPadSF might be an even more daunting task, as the Phoenix Hotel was emptied for the weekend, filled with art, and then restored for business. Fort Mason's San Francisco Fine Art Fair was the most diverse, with galleries from 10 countries represented. Below are some other interesting tidbits about the fairs:

7,387

183

Number of galleries and exhibitors participating (97 from San Francisco and Northern California; 25 from Los Angeles and Southern California; 19 from the New York City area; 30 from othe U.S. Locations; 12 from international locations).